Pinole News

A long-delayed Pinole skate park is on the horizon at last, after the City Council this week settled on a site in Pinole Valley Park and instructed the staff to negotiate a design contract.

A large water pipe construction project west of the East Bay hills is ready for public review, with an environmental document awaiting public comment and several hearings scheduled in June.

FORT BRAGG – Train tunnel No. 1 on the old California Western Railroad has endured a lot of punishment since it was hacked out of the serpentine and metasandstone rock east of Fort Bragg by Chinese and Italian laborers a century ago.

And there's more local news you won't find elsewhere: Law enforcement reports, the Court Report, births, marriages, new businesses, anniversaries, tides, school and Senior Center menus, letters to the editor, crossword puzzle, legal notices and ads from local businesses.

Officials painted a bleak picture of the coming fiscal year's budget, telling residents at Tuesday's City Council meeting that unless they approve a utility tax hike in June, the city likely would have to disband its police department and contract with the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office for police services.

A proposal to extend BART north to Hercules is challenging this city to re-examine how it wants to evolve from an automobile-dependent suburb into its New Urbanist, pedestrian- and transit-friendly vision.

Despite passing Measure G last year, West Contra Costa Unified School District has a losing record when it come to parcel taxes.

Parents, educators and local students will have another chance this week to weigh in on the future of West Contra Costa schools.

After several years of bleak economic news, the city's finances are showing gradual but steady improvement but serious difficulties remain, the finance director told the City Council this week.

These police calls were provided by the Hercules Police Department. Vandalism: On May 6, 2013, at about 10:05 am, an Officer responded to the Rite Aid parking lot, on Sycamore Ave.

They let the light in and capture the view outside. Homes with a lot of windows are certainly popular with one segment of homeowners.

By Bay City News Service An alert citizen in Pinole who reported seeing potential burglars fleeing from a home with a full pillowcase led to the suspects' arrests on suspicion of burglary, police said.

No one was injured in a 5-acre brush fire off the eastbound 80 Freeway near Pinole Saturday, authorities said.

By Bay City News At least one house is on fire in a Pinole neighborhood Thursday evening, a fire dispatcher said.

Both Hercules and Pinole's population grew by 0.4 percent last year. Figures released by the state Department of Finance show both Hercules and Pinole added about 200 residents in 2012.

SAN PABLO: The San Pablo-Richmond Cinco de Mayo Unity Parade and Festival is May 4 and begins at 10 a.m. with a parade from Richmond Civic Center, at 27th Street and Nevin Avenue, to San Pablo City Hall, 13831 San Pablo Ave.

A former top municipal official plans to turn the once-thriving but now mudbound and semi-dormant Rodeo Marina into a tourist destination, with restaurants, shops and a touch of the Napa wine country.

Officers were alerted to the robbery via a silent alarm at the Check 'N Go store at 1578 Fitzgerald Drive around 3:20 p.m., police said.

Police are asking for the public's help in capturing two men they believe robbed a cash-checking store after one of them told a cashier that their objective was to secure a loan.

How at risk are Pinole and Hercules residents from pollution compared to other cities in the state? According to the state officials, the answer is below average for Pinole and Hercules residents.